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By Lalit K Jha
Washington, Nov 14 (PTI) Indian-American Jitendra
Diganvker has announced to run for the US House of
Representatives in the 2018 Congressional elections.

If elected by his Republican party in the primaries,
Diganvker, a business owner and community worker, would be
pitted against popular Democratic Incumbent Raja
Krishnamoorthi from the 8th Congressional District of
Illinois.

A suburb of Chicago, the Congressional District has a
sizeable Indian-American population.

Krishnamoorthi, who has carved a niche for himself in the
last 10 months in the US Congress through his articulate views
on key issues like national security, immigration and economy,
is backed by the former US President Barack Obama.

If nominated by the Republican Party, it would be for the
first time that an Indian-American would be pitted against
another in a Congressional election.

Diganvker said that he is running for Congress to give a
voice to the hard-working middle-class Americans that are too
often ignored by career politicians in Washington DC.

"Immigrating to our great country, my family and I have
experienced many highs and lows," he said.

Â“My family came to America to achieve the American
dream--to succeed or fail by our hard work and commitment.

Today, career politicians have left behind hard-working
middle-class Americans. I will be a voice for those very
people who have been left behind, because my family is one of
them," Diganvker said.

He lost his two daughters in a tragic house fire in 1999,
which drove him to become a compassionate community servant.

He said he has seen first-hand, how burdensome government
regulations and rising health care costs can discourage the
entrepreneurial spirit.

"I am not a politician. While most politicians pass laws
yet never feel the effects of their actions, I come from real
America. I have felt these struggles and know first-hand the
consequences of Washington's action, and inaction, on issues
important to middle-class families. I will be the voice of
everyday Americans in Washington," he said in a media release.

The US House of Representative currently has four Indian
Americans.

Ami Bera from California is the three-term lawmaker.

Three others Â– Ro Khanna from California, Raja Krishnamoorthi
from Illinois and Pramila Jayapal from Washington State Â– were
elected to the Congress last year.

All of them would be seeking re-election next year.

Kamala Harris from California is the first Indian-origin
American Senator. She was elected to the Senate last year. She
is of mixed parental heritage. PTI LKJ
AJR
.

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.